Fare-register.



L. J. HARRIS.

FARE REGISTER.

APPLIOATION FILED Nov. 27. 1912.

^ Patented Dec. 23, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

ATTORNEYS L. J. HARRIS. FARB REGISTER. APPLICATION HALED Nov. 27, 1912.

1,082,422. Patented Dec. 23, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEWIS J. HARRIS, 0F ALBANY, GEORGIA.

FARE-REGISTE R.

Application filed November 27, 1912.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, Lnwis J. HARRIS, a citizenof the United States, and a resident of Albany, in the county ofDougherty and State of Georgia, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Fare-Registers, of which the following is aspecification.

l\/Iy invention relates to fare registers of a kind adapted for use uponpassenger cars of various types, including street cars, and of peculiarservice in recording the number of passengers carried, and if desired,recording also information as to the destination of the passengers.

My invention comprehencls mechanism controllable partly by the weight ofthe passenger entering the car, and partly by a voluntary or manual actof the passenger independently of his weight, for prepar-v ing a recordof the number of passengers taken aboard at various stations, and also'yfor indicating respectively the various desti` nations for which theseveral passengers are bound.

My invention further includes mechanism controllable automatically bythe exit of passengers from the car for indicating at what stations andin what numbers the passengers leave the car.

My invention likewise comprehends means controllable by the crew aloneas distin-` guished from passengers for designating the entrance or exitof members of the crew.

My invention further contemplates pro-V vision for preventing theconductors and other employees as well as unauthorized persons fromunduly tampering with the mechanism in order to cause the latter toindica-te false returns.

Reference is made to the accompanying drawings forming part of thisspecification and in which like letters indicate like parts.

Figure 1 is a fragmentary view of a pas-v senger car equipped with myinvention, befv ing a section on the line 1 1 of Fig. 2,

looking in the direction of the arrow; Fig.`

2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1,

looking in the direction of the arrow; Fig.1, 3 is a rear elevation ofthe recorder; Fig` 4f is a fragmentary side elevation of the recordingmechanism; Fig. 5 is a horizon` tal section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1look'A ing in the direction of the arrow; Fig. (if is a substantiallycentral vertical sectionl through the recording mechanism; Fig. 7

is a detail showing a portion of the record` Specification of LettersIatent.

latented Dec. 23,1913.

Serial No. 733,799.

ing strip upon which is indicated the number of passengers and otherrespective designations; and, Fig. 8 is a detail showing in section onthe line 8 3 of Fig. 2 the latch mechanism for normally holding theinner door closed.

All of the views illustrate mechanisms carried by a car which in thisinstance is a railway passenger car.

A wall or partition is shown at 4' and the car body at 7a. A door S,normally closed by a spring S, is located upon th-e threshold of thecar, and at 9 is an inner door parallel with the door 3 and normallyclosed. rIhe doors 8 and 9 with the space between them constitutepractically a vestibule. The car is provided with a fixed floor 10 andwith a movable platform 11, the latter constituting a part of the floor,as will be understood from Fig. 1. The platform 11 is normally raised alittle at one of its edges by springs, one of which is shown at 12. Abell crank lever 13 is journaled upon'a pivot pin 14e carried by abracket 16 which extends downwardly from the fixed floor 10. Pivotallyconnected with the bell crank lever 13 is a link 15, which is alsopivotally connected to the under side of the platform 11. A pitman 17 isconnected with the bell crank lever 13 and with a rocking lever 13disposed below and near the door 8. The rocking lever 18 is journaledupon a pivot 19 carried by a fork 20, the latter extending downwardlyfrom the floor. The outer or free end of the lever 18 is connected witha clutch 21 having the form of a pin, and slidably mounted in a bracket22, so as to extend through the same. The door 8 is clutched or heldtixedly in position by the clutch 21 whenever the platform 11 isdepressed by the weight of a passenger, that is, when a passenger stepsupon the platform 11 so as to depress the same with his weight, motionis transmitted through the bell crank levers and link 15, and pitman 7,to the clutch 21, so as to cause the latter to rise and block the door8, or at least to prevent this door from being free to open.

Extending downwardly from the floor 10 is a bracket 23, and pivotallymounted upon the same is a lever 24;. A link 25 extends from one end ofthis lever to the lower face of the platform 11 with which it isconnected. A pitman 26 is pivotally connected with the lever 2-1- andextends upwardly to a bell crank lever 28. This bell crank lever is apart of the recorder, which as a whole is shown at 27. Adjacent to thebell crank lever 2S is a ratchet wheel 29. Engaging this ratchet wheelis a spring pawl 30 to prevent backward movement of the movable parts ofthe register. ik pawl 3l is carried by the bell crank lever 2S andengages the ratchet wheel 29. A link 32 is pivotally connected with thebell crank lever 2S and also with an impression lever 33. Thisimpression lever is journaled to rock and is provided at its lower orfree end with a printing die 34, preferably of a form suitable to printa dot or stip-ple.

A. shaft 35 supports a pair of spool heads or disks and with the latter'constitutes practically a revoluble spool. This spool carries a recordroll 37, that. is, a spiral roll of printing paper which when unwoundappears as indicated atl 37 a. Below the spool is a platen roller 38,and engaging the latter is a traction roll-er 39 mounted upon arevoluble shaft tO, this shaft supporting the ratchet wheel 29 andbeing` turned step by step by movements of the latter, as will beunderstood from Fig. 4;.

Below the roll 37 and upon opposite sides thereof are brackets lll whichsupport revoluble ribbon spools 42 carrying an ink ribbon 43, which ispartially wound upon each of these two spools and crosses the recordstrip 3.7a at a point immediately adjacent to the platen roller 38, aswill be understood from Figs. 3 and 6. The ink ribbon 43 is for thepurpose of enabling a record to be printed upon the record strip, theimpressions being made as hereinafter described. The ink ribbon may bemoved from time to time by hand for the purpose of supplying a newsurface of the ink ribbon, or if desired it may be moved automaticallystep by step, as in a typewriter, or again it may be discardedaltogether and a carbon strip wound with the record strip 37a upon theshaft 35 so that the printing is effected by impressions made throughthe carbon sheet upon the printing strip. Since, however, the inkingribbon and the carbon strip are both well known in this art `andconstitute no essential part of my invention I will not further describethem.

The partition or wall 7, which is stationary, is provided with ahorizontally extending slot or opening 44e, and mounted partially withinthis slot or opening is a casing 45 which is movable horizontally andcarries wings 4:50, which always cover the opening 44. Suspended withinthe casing from a rod 45a are a number of printing levers 4G, 46a eachlever being normally held in its outermost position, as indicated infull lines in Fig. 6, by a leaf spring Ll5. Each lever 4G, 4G isprovided with a printing slug L7-that is, a projection carrying lettersor a type form and adapted to be moved against the ribbon a3 so as toforce the latter against the adjacent surface of the record strip 37nand print the letters thereupon. The several printing slugs designatethe names of stations along the route. Each printing lever is providedwith a projectingknob or key 4S, the several knobs correspondingr to thedesignations of the stations. The printing lever 46, which is the onelocated to the left according to Fig. 2, is used by the train crewalone, the other printing levers being used by the passengers.

The casing l5 is provided with bearings elf) having the form of eyes andencircling a pair of stationary rods 50, the latter being supported bystationary brackets 49a. Each printing lever 4-6 carries a boss 5lintegral with it and extending inwardly of the casing. The casing isalso provided with guides 52 disposed in pairs, as indicated in Fig. G.

Mounted upon the wall 7 and parallel thereto is a rod 53 carrying at oneof its ends a bolt 54, which is adapted to be thrust into an escutcheon55 carried by the door 0. The rod is provided with a flattened portion53a, this portion being resilient and serving to some extenty as aspring The flattened resilient portion 53n is secured directly to thewall 7 and is in alinement with the adjacent ends of the bosses 5l.lhencver the knob or key l-S is pressed inwardly in relation to thecasing 45, the boss 51 carried by the lever 4G causes the bolt -il to beretracted from the escutcheon 55 and releases the door 9 so that thelatter may be swung open by merely pressing against it. Each time aprinting lever 416 is swung inwardly by pressure applied to the key orknob 4S, the printing slug 47 prints the name of a station upon therecord strip 37a and at the same time the door 9 is unbolted or leftfree, as just explained.

Just below the opening` la (see Figs. 5 and G) is a stationary guide barall, which is provided with a single notch dit". This notch is of coursestationary, and is so shaped and so located that the boss 5l of anylever 4G may pass through it, provided the casing` t5 be moved by handinto a position suitable for the registry of the particular lever 4G andthe notch 44;". The arrangement is such that only one lever il@ at atime can be actuated, and that only one legend, indicating the name of astation, can be printed at a time.

Just below the printing lever 4G which is used as above stated by thecrew alone, is a lock 57 provided with a bolt 5S, the printing lever 4Gbeing` provided with a notch 59 for receiving this bolt. Each member ofthe crew is provided with a pocket key 60 fitting the lock 57. Byinserting the key (E0 into the lock any member of the crew can cause thebolt 58 to be dr wn downwardly and out of the notch 59 so as to leavethe printing distinctive mark of the printing lever 46a shows from therecord that it is a member of the crew and not a passenger who has justentered the car. The passengers are unable to interfere with theprinting lever used by the crew, it being normal as above indicated.

As a rule the apparatus above described is duplicated for each car andthe passengers enter the car at one of the ends thereof and leave it bypassing out at the opposite end. I do not deem it necessary toillustrate or describe the mechanism at the two ends of the car for thereason just indicated, to wit, that the mechanism at one end is exactlylike that at the other end. Vhen, however the cars are constructed asjust indicated, the levers 46 and keys or knobs 48 are used only at theend of the car serving for purposes of admitting the passengers, whereasat the discharge end of the car, the levers 46 and their keys or knobsare for the time being idle, though the platform 11 is actuated by thepassengers stepping upon it, and the record strip at this end of the carhas printed upon it in succession a number of dots or stipples, eachrepresenting the exit of one passenger,

The casing 45 is provided with a peep hole 56 through which theconductor can observe the record strip 37a. A door 57a is maintainednormally locked being under the control of some officer of the companywho may open it for the purpose of enabling him to inspect themechanism. hleither the conductor, the train crew, nor the passengerscan open this door.

The shaft 40 is provided with a knob 40a which extends into thevestibule and is accessible to the conductor. By grasping this knob andturning the shaft 40 the record strip 37a is drawn or fed downwardly.The conductor, however, has no means at his disposal for causing therecord strip to move in the opposite direction. The record strip 37a isprovided with a number of distinguishing marks 37b, the space betweenone of these marks and the next successive mark indicating the number ofpassengers and crew members entering the car (or leaving the car as thecase may be) at the given station.

The operation of my device is as follows: The parts being assembled andarranged as above described, and the recorder 27 being provided with anew record roll 37, the apparatus is in condition for the journey of thecar to begin. A passenger desiring to enter the car pulls open the door8, which being in its normal condition is free to swing open, the clutch21 being now in its lowermost or idle position. The passenger passesinto the vestibule and the door 8 closes behind him. His weight upon theplatform 1l actuates the various movable members connected with theclutch 2l and causes this clutch to rise. This prevents the door 8 frombeing opened for the moment by the next successive passenger. Thedownward movement of the .platform 1l by actuating the link 25, lever 24and pitman 26 causes the bell crank lever Q8 to rock, and this transmitsmotion through the link 32 to the lever 33, thus causing the impressionpoint 34 to print upon the record strip a dot or stipple 58, asindicated at the right of F ig. 7 The passenger now finds itimpracticable to open the inner door 9 until h e records the station towhich he is going. He thereupon selects the appropriate knob or key 48bearing the name or destination of the station in question and moves thecasing 45 to the right or left to such an extent as to bring theparticular knob or key 48 he has chosen into proper alinement with therecording strip 37a. Until the particular lever 46 in question has beenbrought to the proper position relatively to the recording strip 87 itcannot be fully depressed. thus depressed, however', the boss 51 bybending the flat resilient portion 53a of the rod 53 withdraws the bolt54 and unlocks the inner door, as above described. At the same time theprinting slug 47 prints upon the reco-rd strip the destination to whichthe passenger is going. The inner door 9 being now free because of thedisengagement of the bolt 54 from it, is pushed open by the passenger,who walks into the body of the car. As the passenger leaves the platforml1 the latter, acting under pressure of the spring l2, moves upwardlyinto its normal position and the pitman 26 now descends so that thelever 38 rocks into its normal position, indicated by full lines in Fig.4. The rocking of the bell crank lever 28 causes the ratchet wheel Q9 toturn and this moves the traction roller 39 step by step, the movementsof the record strip taking place during the time intervals when all ofthe printing mechanism is idle. The next successive passenger now findsthe outer door 8 unclutched or free to open, whereupon he pushes itopen, enters the vestibule, and repeats the process just described withreference to the rst passenger to enter. Each passenger thus enteringthe car first causes a dot or stipple 58 to be impressed upon the recordstrip 37a, thus indicating the entry lVhen it is of the passenger andeach passenger registers his destination, Which is printer. in alinementwith the stipple associated With this particular passenger, as indicatedin Fig. 7. After the passengers have all entered the car and the trainis ready to proceed to another station the conductor, looking throughthe peep hole and examining the record strip 87, grasps the record stripwith his hand, as above described, and dravfs it downward until itreaches such a point that another distinguishing mark 37b is brought toview. The mechanism is nonv in condition to record the entry otpassengers when the train arrives at the nent successive stations, whenthe operations above described are repeated.

rThe foregoing remarks apply mainly to the operation of the device underconditions Where the passengers are entering. Where they are leaving,however, the operation though comparatively simple is in part as abovedescribed. The clutch 2l and the latch 54 are removed or rendered idleat the end oi the car from which the passengers are making their exit.Each passenger' preparatory to leaving the car Walks upon the movableplatform ll and causes the same to tilt slightly, as above described.This causes the impression lever 33 to be actuated so that it makes theimpression of a stipple 5S upon the record strip 37a. Each passenger inleaving the car causes the ratchet Wheel 29 to turn as above described,and a step by step motion is thus given to the record strip. `Whenever amember of the creiv enters the car his vveight or' course causes theprinting mechanism to print a stipple or dot upon the record, and thepeculiar mark or designation made by the key 46a upon the record stripindicates that the person thus registering is a member oi" the creiv andnot a passenger.

there the apparatus is used for street cars, the printing mechanis nrelative to the names et' the stationo may remain idle or even discardedentirely, the entrance and exit being recorded in the torni ot stipplesor dots upon the record strip.

As will be understood from the foregoing description the deviceautomatically makes a record as to the number of passengers and asomewhat independent record, under control of the passengers bothrecords appearing on the same record strip and being beyond the controlof the conductor, in so far as the entry ot passengers is concerned.

lWhere the full equipment is employed there is a. record of allpassengers taken aboard and also a record ot all passengers discharged.

l do not limit my improvements to the precise construction shown, asvariations may be made in the form oli my invention Without departingfrom the spirit thereof.

I claim i. .fr device of the character described, comprising a recordstrip, means controllable by movements of passengers for actuating saidrecord strip step by step, a trame movable relativelj to said recordstrip, a plurality of printing levers carried by said frame, mechanismcarried by each printing lever for printing upon said record strip, adoor, bolt for normally maintaining said door locked, and mechanismcontrollable by any one ot said printing levers tor actuating said boltin order to unlock said door.

2. A device of the character described comprising a recorder providedWith a movable recording strip, means controllable by passengerssuccessively entering a car tor advancing said recording strip step bystep, mechanism controllable automatically by the respect-ive Weights otsaid passengers tor placing indicating marks upon said recording strip,and means controllable automatically by each passenger tor enabling himto indicate his destination upon said recording strip.

3. A device ot the character described comprising a record strip, meanscontrollable by movements of passengers for actuating said record stripstep by step, a trame movable bodily along said strip in a directionparallel with the direction ot travel oi said strip, a plurality ofprinting levers carrie-d by said frame, mechanism carried by eachprinting lever tor printing dillerent legends upon said record strip, adoor, a bolt tor normally maintaining said door locked, said bolt beingprovided vvith a flexible portion disposed across the general path ci"travel ot said printing levers as the same are depressed in order toprint said record strip, said bolt being t'ree to move ont of engagementwith said door When said lier-Libie portion of said bolt is pressed uponby any one ot said printing levers.

L. J. HARRIS.

Vilitnesses:

Vf. 0. Png-inscri, UT. L. PEAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

